The sites were dumped a couple of weeks ago. But the interesting part was that immediately after the Florida Update, we had unprecedented first page rankings. We previously ranked well anyway, usually in the first 2 pages. We do have a lot of opposition here with some 300-400 accommodation websites in this region.
When I investigated, I assumed that we had simply been re ranked as a result of the furore over the Florida Update - not the case. The sites have actually been dumped.
As for spamming, I do have layered text that is a two eged sword . . . it is aimed at improving rankings but it is also there for those who turn images off, and displays before (instead of) images. I doubt if this would be considered spamming??
In any case, my portal
www.gippslandlakes.com also contains this system and yet it still ranks page one on most of our regional searches.
Any answers would be helpful. I have resubmitted the sites and await the next dance.